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Boundary plan aims to stop urban creep into regions

The State Government is drawing up a growth boundary to stop Melbourne's urban sprawl and protect farmland.

Planning Minister Matthew Guy says the Government is only in the early stages of devising the strategy.

However, he says there needs to be a time, about 20 years from now, when Melbourne stops expanding outwards and fills an urban growth boundary.

He says people looking for a house and land will be encouraged to go to regional centres.

"We don't want to just have 80, 85 per cent of the population living in Melbourne alone and then do that to the detriment of the rest of Victoria," he said.

"We need to use our major centres outside Melbourne as areas that can manage population accommodation.

"Encouraging growth by a more direct way into our regional centres, Traralgon, Moe, Morwell being one and of course Warragul and Drouin which will have a huge role to play into the future and of course those towns will need strategic planning around them to make sure they don't repeat the mistakes of Melbourne.

"There needs to be a time in 20 to 25 years when we have an urban growth boundary that will fill, where we say that house and land ... [developments] will need to go to other areas.

"It will need to be accommodated in places like Geelong.

"We will need to be looking at other places around the state, maybe Warragul, Drouin and others."

The president of the Municipal Association of Victoria, Bill McArthur, says he would like to see consultation with councils.

"If the pressure is brought into regional Victoria we would welcome growth in a number of our municipalities, in a number of our cities and towns but again we've got to have the ability to service those new residents," he said.

Councillor McArthur says if regional towns are absorbing the growth, then councils need to be properly resourced.